Kay Lancaster wrote:

Drought stress can be very tough on trees and shrubs, and often sets them up
for significant insect or fungal problems.

One way to tell if the tree is in trouble is to go out early in the
morning and look at the tops. If the leaves look limp in the morning it
is a sure sign of danger. Everything looks limp by afternoon...

Consider 2-3" of mulch under the trees; it'll help prevent water loss
as you water and kill the grass under the trees (a big source of water loss).
Tree trimming companies are often willing to give you a whole truckload of
mulch for free. I prefer to watch for crews clearing power lines or
widening roads before asking... better chance of healthy material. Or
lay out big sheets of corrugated cardboard or thickish layer of newspapers
to kill the grass -- you can water underneath utility mulches like these
pretty easily.

Absolutely!!!

I also discovered that the pine straw mulch is only "decorative". The
pine bark mini-nuggets hold the water better than anything I have found.
They do deteriorate faster than the big nuggets but really hold the
water. I like the color better than the 'fresh ground' from the tree people.

Drought is so hard. Right now Atlanta is suffering from too much water.
It has rained so much this summer, I have only had to do outside
watering twice! Lots of mildew and fungus and my patio is turning green.
Gazillions of mosquitoes. Have to mow the grass in segments as it rains
so much. Still it is better than drought...